


The Toaster

by KittyCargo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anxiety, Art welcome, Auror Harry Potter, Drarry, Established Relationship, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter Universe, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Podfic Welcome, Shitty bosses, Stress Baking, Unspeakable Draco Malfoy, Working things out, do not repost to another site, fight, gawain robards mention, muggle appliances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 12:40:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19992364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KittyCargo/pseuds/KittyCargo
Summary: Harry and Draco figure out how to make up after a fight.





	The Toaster

**Author's Note:**

> Lots of thanks to @TDCat for beta-ing this fic!

Harry had felt guilty all day, but he felt especially guilty when he apparated back to Grimmauld and smelled fresh baking. Draco baked when he was anxious, and judging from the overwhelming smell of biscuits and cakes and something cinnamony that Harry couldn’t quite place, Draco had been really anxious for a long time.

Harry sighed as he let himself in the front door and toed off his shoes. He and Draco didn’t fight often, not since they’d become friends a couple years after the war and realized how much in common they had, and the small bickering that had lingered disappeared when they resolved their sexual tension with each other a few years after that. Harry had been so excited when Draco had recently moved in with him, taking their relationship to the next level.

Their fight this morning had started when Draco took the day off, making an offhand remark about not being willing to risk his neck every day that week. Harry had known Draco didn’t care for the head of the Unspeakable department, but hadn’t realized that his boyfriend was being repeatedly scheduled for the toughest and most dangerous shifts until Draco had let it slip with that comment, his eyes widening as he realized what he’d said and watched Harry put the pieces together.

“Leave it, Harry,” Draco had told him, his voice firm. “It’s  _ my  _ job. I can handle it.”

“Handle it? That’s why you’ve been limping all week? Because you’ve been handling it?” Harry had seethed.

“As if your job is any safer! You went to St. Mungo’s last week! At least I haven’t needed to be hospitalized!” Draco’s voice had risen, and Harry’s temper had risen with it.

“That’s different! My job is supposed to be dangerous! But at least Robards isn’t scheduling me to purposefully put me in danger!” Harry shouted.

“No! He doesn’t have to! Because you see to that yourself!” Draco had shouted back.

Harry was already late for work at this point, and knew he was too worked up to have a discussion, so he’d walked out, slamming the door and apparating away before he said anything he would regret.

He’d spent his morning snapping at everyone in his vicinity, until his anger had drained away and he was able to identify what was really upsetting him. He was worried out of his mind for Draco. His stomach hurt all afternoon, the thought of anything worse than a limp happening to Draco causing him physical pain. And he felt so, so guilty. Draco was an adult, deserved the opportunity to make his own decisions regarding workplace safety. So he’d taken off work early, stopping at the record store on his way home and picking up a record Draco had been pining for, before apparating home.

Home, which smelled of sugar and cinnamon and treacle because Draco was anxious. Because Harry had made Draco anxious.

Draco had the music on, something loud and fast which matched his flurry of activity. It was so loud that he didn’t hear Harry come in, and Harry paused for a moment in the doorway of the kitchen, eyeing the several dozens of biscuits sitting on a cooling rack before watching Draco frantically cleaning the kitchen. Harry had noticed the whole house was clean on his way in, vacuum lines on the carpet in the hall. The thought of Draco searching through Harry’s closets to find the muggle vacuum made him want to pull Draco tight to his chest. He’d always loved watching Draco figure out muggle appliances.  Draco wiped down the counter with a wet cloth then picked up the toaster to wipe that down too.

“NO!” Harry shouted, startling Draco unintentionally. The toaster clattered out of his hand and fell off the counter, banging into the cabinet when the cord pulled taut, which kept it from hitting the floor. Draco looked at Harry wide eyed, not just surprised by his shouting but also his presence. Harry balled his fists, willing himself to calm down. Draco was fine, but that didn’t keep his heart from trying to beat out of his chest.

Harry covered the length of the kitchen in two long strides, pulling Draco to him tight. He just needed to hold Draco, make sure he was alright. Draco’s whole body was tense in his arms, and when Harry had finally calmed down enough to pull away and look at his face there was a furrow between his brows and his lips were turned down in a definite frown.

“Are you quite through wrinkling my clothes?” Draco sniffed, pulling away to shut the music off, and Harry knew Draco’s was trying to cover his anxiety, as if he just acted cool and posh and put together Harry wouldn’t notice the half dozen tarts on the counter.

“Probably not, but I can be for now. I think we should talk-” Harry started, but Draco interrupted.

“I can have my things moved by tomorrow,” he said, his tone clipped and sharp.

That puzzled Harry. “Where else would you put them?”

“I’m sure Pansy would let me stay with her. Or I can go back to the Manor if I really needed until I could get a flat again,” Draco’s voice wavered slightly, not enough that anyone else would notice, but he’d never been able to fool Harry like he could fool other people.

Harry finally understood and laughed a breath of relief. “Draco, I don’t want you to move out. I don’t want to break up-” a terrible thought occurred to Harry. “Unless you want…” he trailed off, unable to even finish that sentence.

“No! I don’t!” Draco put his hands on his face and took a very long, and very deep breath. Harry tried to let him finish it before speaking again.

“Why did you think I wanted to break up with you?” Harry asked, bewildered.

“You left in such a huff this morning, and then the first thing you did when you got home was to yell at me.” Draco leaned back against the counter, wrapping his arms around himself.

“Yell at you? What-” Harry saw the toaster dangling and in the panic of a possible break up had momentarily forgotten all about that worry. “Oh. Remember what I told you about listening to the wireless in the bath? That you have to be careful around muggle appliances and water? Same goes for the toaster. You were wiping it down with a wet cloth and it was still plugged in and- well, I panicked,” Harry admits a bit sheepishly. “I suppose I could’ve told you nicer, but I’ve been worried all day about you and your job and-”

“You’ve been worried all day?”

“Well, yeah. I love you, of course I worry about you, especially when you’re in a position to get hurt.”

“I thought you were just upset I wasn’t standing up to my boss,” Draco admits, in a small voice.

“I mean, I don’t think what he’s doing is right and I do think you should say something, but I don’t care  _ how  _ you handle it. I just don’t like you getting hurt. That-” Harry searches for the words. “Thinking about you getting hurt makes me feel sick.” Harry steps over to the counter where Draco’s leaning, and settles in next to him. Draco leans towards him, resting his cheek on the top of Harry’s messy curls. They’re both quiet for a minute, then Draco breaks the silence.

“When I told you I’d handle it, I meant that. I’ll take care of it. It just might not happen the way you want, or immediately. We can’t all have that Gryffindor recklessness. I have to do it in such a way that I keep my job.”

“I know. I trust you. I’m sorry.”

“Me too.”

They stand together another moment in the quiet kitchen before Harry asks “Can I have a biscuit?” at the same time Draco asks “How in the name of Merlin am I supposed to clean the toaster then?”

**Author's Note:**

> Come check me out in my natural habitat on tumblr, @kittycargo


End file.
